Nonprofits Complete Consulting Opportunity with the Patterson Foundation

August 27, 2021 – Sarasota

A five-week consulting opportunity for nonprofits provided by The Patterson Foundation recently culminated in a virtual knowledge sharing session, where five regional organizations discussed best practices they have adopted for strategic decision-making for their programs, products and services. The organizations took part in the session through their participation in Advancing Mission Thrivability, an opportunity created by The Patterson Foundation to help nonprofits make mission-focused, economically informed decisions.

During the two-hour virtual session held Aug. 19, organizations discussed approaches they learned and demonstrated during Advancing Mission Thrivability. When asked about ways to navigate future challenges, organizations expressed the importance of maximizing revenue from multiple sources during times of lower attendance or donations. The nonprofits also emphasized the value of having the confidence to implement specific strategies for generating revenue. Additionally, they stressed the need to develop plans for what may happen, not what is expected to happen — a point highlighted by the impact of COVID-19 and other unforeseen challenges. Each nonprofit came away from the individualized consulting sessions with a better understanding of their unique strengths and opportunities for optimization, along with ways to plot an effective course of action based on them.

“As these five organizations participated in Advancing Mission Thrivability, we were eager to learn how each would benefit,” said Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of The Patterson Foundation. “The feedback from the knowledge sharing session affirms that each organization strengthened their capacity to make sound decisions in this ever-changing world.”

Advancing Mission Thrivability strengthens nonprofits by sharing mission-centric, economically informed approaches to decision-making that will guide them in increasing their effectiveness while becoming an even greater asset to the communities they serve. As part of this opportunity, The Patterson Foundation engaged No Margin, No Mission — a national consulting firm and social enterprise — to provide five weeks of consulting sessions for each of the nonprofit organizations. The consulting sessions were tailored to the individual considerations of each organization to help them focus on applying these approaches to their work.

The organizations that participated in these consulting sessions are: 

• Lemur Conservation Foundation
• Military Heritage Museum
• Multicultural Health Institute
• Samaritan Counseling Services of the Gulf Coast
• Venice MainStreet

Advancing Mission Thrivability is part of The Patterson Foundation’s Nonprofit Thrivability initiative. This initiative connects nonprofits with expertise and resources to learn concepts such as strategic decision-making while adopting and implementing entrepreneurial principles to generate enough revenue to support and eventually grow their operations.
To learn more about Advancing Mission Thrivability, visit www.thepattersonfoundation.org.